Tired of the Cleaning Routine
“I have a friend diagnosed with ADHD who does a different chore every day — Monday is laundry day; Tuesday, vacuuming day; Wednesday, dusting day. The problem is, some weeks I feel overwhelmed by committing to doing something every day. Is there any way around this heavy schedule?”
Your friend has discovered that routine is an organizational friend. It is too much work to re-write your schedule every week. Still, I understand that routine — particularly for cleaning — can feel tedious and overwhelming to an ADHD brain. But by delegating, avoiding perfectionism, and designating vacation days, you can find a happy medium.
> Is there a laundry service at your local laundromat that could take over the task? Can you afford a housekeeper to do the floors and bathrooms? If not, can some of these tasks be done every other week? My housekeeper comes every two weeks, and no vacuuming nor bathroom cleaning occurs in the meantime, except for the occasional light sweeping or swish with a toilet brush. My house isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough.
> Find two tasks that can be done on alternate weeks (Tuesday is for vacuuming one week, bathrooms the next) to free up Wednesday every week.
> Write vacations days into your schedule. By designating two days every week for chore-free living, the rest of the week will be less overwhelming.
